Venice doctor gets pulse of the street and the homeless

April 28, 2014

Updated 2:14 p.m.

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Dr. Coley King examines Karl Harris at Venice Beach. “My only mandate graduating from medical school was to do good medicine on whatever patient is in need,” says King. ED CRISOSTOMO , STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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Sitting in a wheelchair, Michele Russell shares a laugh with Dr. Coley King as medical assistant Joyce Rodriguez watches. “I been seeing Dr. King for about two years. Dr. King rocks. He is my hero, he's my guy, he's the King and now he's blushing,” says Russell. ED CRISOSTOMO , STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Dr. Coley King examines James Robert Portwood at the Ocean Park Community Center. Portwood was homeless and had a metal rod in his leg that became infected. He now has housing and the rod has since been removed. ED CRISOSTOMO , STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

After examining Richard Jenkins, below left, Dr. Coley King waves as he leaves for another appointment. King says that Jenkins was homeless for five years and at that time suffered from a spinal cord abscess. Jenkins has since recovered from his condition. ED CRISOSTOMO , STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Dr. Coley King examines W. Lorenzo Pye at Venice Beach. “My only mandate graduating from medical school was to do good medicine on whatever patient is in need,” says King. ED CRISOSTOMO , STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Dr. Coley King examines Karl Harris at Venice Beach. “My only mandate graduating from medical school was to do good medicine on whatever patient is in need,” says King. ED CRISOSTOMO , STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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SoCal Slices is an occasional series on stories about people in our community. If you have an idea, please send it to Director of Photography Michele Cardon at

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Standing about 6 feet, with almost zero body fat and a Salvador Dali mustache, is Dr. Coley King.

He is, in his way, an artist. His canvas: the homeless. His art: medicine.

Seven years ago, Venice Family Clinic’s King and Isaiah Ortiz, case manger with Ocean Park Community Center, started working a type of care known as street medicine. They help homeless on two fronts: health and housing.

King works five days a week and is on call for seven. He has no formal office, seeing patients instead in Westside clinics or streets.

On a recent overcast Tuesday, the waiting room at Ocean Park Community Center is full of people waiting for King. Jimmy Peters, who lives in an unspecified spot in the Malibu mountains, is a fan. “Anybody has anything bad to say about Dr. King doesn’t get out of this room alive and that’s it.”

When asked why he does what he does, King goes Hippocrates-level old school:

“My only mandate graduating from medical school was to do good medicine on whatever patient is in need.”

And if that patient is in an alley?

“The fact that it’s outside of the office makes it more challenging ...

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